Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock Price

Key Points

• Wells Fargo cut Aflac's price target from $116 to $111 and maintained an "equal weight" rating, implying roughly a 1.92% downside from the prior close.
• The analyst consensus is a Hold with an average target of $111.36, based on a mix of 1 Strong Buy, 3 Buy, 6 Hold and 2 Sell ratings.
• Aflac's latest quarter missed EPS ($1.75 vs. $1.80 estimate) while revenue rose 27.9% YoY to $4.35 billion; insiders have sold shares recently and institutions own about 67.44% of the stock.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $116.00 to $111.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price points to a potential downside of 1.92% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Barclays set a $99.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday. Finally, Evercore raised shares of Aflac from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $111.36.

Aflac Price Performance

Aflac stock opened at $113.17 on Tuesday. Aflac has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $119.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $111.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $110.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.30 billion, a PE ratio of 12.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.62.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The firm had revenue of $4.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Aflac will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total value of $18,655,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,723,100 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,641,978. The trade was a 0.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 572,632 shares of company stock worth $63,514,634 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,301,056,000 after purchasing an additional 6,759,169 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth approximately $420,078,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 1,184.5% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,264,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $141,199,000 after buying an additional 1,165,676 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Aflac by 390.7% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,111,711 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $122,588,000 after buying an additional 885,141 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Aflac by 132.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,227,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $137,078,000 after acquiring an additional 699,080 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac's product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.

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